WEBVTT SARAH MEKOS STARTED DRINKING AND USING MARIJUNIANA DURING HER TEENAGE YEARS. AS A COLLEGE FRESHMAN SHE BEGAN USING OPIOIDS, LIKE PERCOCETS, AND VICODIN. MEKOS - THOSE WERE ALL STREET DRUGS. THEY WERE NOT PRESCRIBED TO ME SPECIFICALLY BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP HER FROM GETTING THEM. THAT'S SOMETHING THE SECTION CHIEF OF THE SECTION OF GENERAL SURGERY AT DARTMOUTH - HITCHCOCK IS CONCERNED ABOUT. BARTH - AS A SURGEON, I DON'T THINK ANY ONE OF US REALIZE SO MUCH THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUR PATIENTS AT RISK FOR BEING LONG TERM OPIOID USERS AND POTENTIALLY DYING FROM OPIOID OVERDOSE JUST BECAUSE WE ARE PRESCRIBING THEM OPIOIDS DOCTOR RICHARD BARTH HAS BEEN LEADING RESEARCH INTO THE TRENDS IN OPIOID PRESCRIBING LEVELS BARTH - AND I JUST SAID TO MYSELF YOU KNOW WE PRESCRIBE A LOT OF OPIODS AS SURGEONS AFTER WE DO OPERATIONS ON PATIENTS AND THERE HAS GOT TO BE SOMETHING I CAN DO ABOUT THIS SO - HE AND OTHERS AT THE MEDICAL CENTER STARTED LOOKING INTO PRESCRIBING PRACTICES AFTER THE MOST COMMON OUTPATIENT OPERATIONS THEY DID. BARTH - LOOKED AND SAW HOW MANY OPIOIDS WERE BEING PRESCRIBED AND VIRTUALLY ALL THE PATIENTS WERE GIVEN OPIOIDS FINDING THERE WAS A VARIATION IN HOW MANY DOCTOR'S PRESCRIBED COMPARED TO HOW MANY PATIENTS ACTUALLY NEEDED. BARTH - WE FOUND THAT OVERALL THEY ONLY USED ABOUT A QUARTER OF WHAT THE OPIOIDS THAT WERE PRESCRIBED THAT LED TO MORE STUDIES. BARTH - THE SECOND STUDY WAS TELLING THE SURGERONS THAT INFORMATION AND THEN SEEING WHAT HAPPENED, THAT THEY ALL CUT THEIR PRESCRIPTIONS IN HALF. THE THIRD STUDY WAS LOOKING AT THE IMPATIENT OPERATIONS FINDING THAT THE NUMBER OF PILLS PRESCRIBED THE DAY BEFORE SURGERY PREDICTED HOW MANY THEY NEEDED AT HOME BARTH SAYS THE NUMBER OF OPIOIDS PRESCRIBED ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAS DROPPED 9 PERCENT - AND THE GRANITE STATE... BARTH - LEADS THE COUNTRY AS THE STATE WITH THE HIGHEST DECREASE IN OPIOID PRESCRIBE. IT DECREASED BY FIFTEEN PERCENT, OK, OVER THE LAST YEAR BARTH IS WORKING ON ANOTHER STUDY NOW. AND AS FOR MEKOS, SHE WANTS TO SEE MORE RESEARCH DONE TO HELP OTHERS AVOID THE KINDS OF STRUGGLES SHE HAD. MEKOS - I THINK THAT IT'S A NECESSITY IN LEBANON, MATT LEIGHTON, NBC5 NEWS. NEWSCHANNEL 5 TRANS IT'S NOT YOUR TYPICAL CA

Dr. Richard Barth has been leading research into the trends in opioid prescribing levels."As a surgeon, I don't think any one of us realize so much that we're putting our patients at risk for being long term opioid users and potentially dying from opioid overdose just because we are prescribing them opioids," he said.The section chief of the section of general surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and others looked into prescribing practices after the most common outpatient operations they did. "Looked and saw how many opioids were being prescribed and virtually all the patients were given opioids," he said.Barth said there was a variation between how many doctors prescribed the drugs compared with how many patients actually needed them.They found overall they only used a quarter of the opioids prescribed.More studies were then conducted. "The second study was telling the surgeons that information and then seeing what happened, that they all cut their prescriptions in half. The third study was looking at the impatient operations finding that the number of pills prescribed the day before surgery predicted how many they needed at home," he said.Barth said the number of opioids prescribed across the country has dropped 9 percent and in New Hampshire it decreased 15 percent over the last year.

LEBANON, N.H. —

Dr. Richard Barth has been leading research into the trends in opioid prescribing levels.

"As a surgeon, I don't think any one of us realize so much that we're putting our patients at risk for being long term opioid users and potentially dying from opioid overdose just because we are prescribing them opioids," he said.

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The section chief of the section of general surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and others looked into prescribing practices after the most common outpatient operations they did.

"Looked and saw how many opioids were being prescribed and virtually all the patients were given opioids," he said.

Barth said there was a variation between how many doctors prescribed the drugs compared with how many patients actually needed them.

They found overall they only used a quarter of the opioids prescribed.

More studies were then conducted.

"The second study was telling the surgeons that information and then seeing what happened, that they all cut their prescriptions in half. The third study was looking at the impatient operations finding that the number of pills prescribed the day before surgery predicted how many they needed at home," he said.

Barth said the number of opioids prescribed across the country has dropped 9 percent and in New Hampshire it decreased 15 percent over the last year.